Dive Brief:

• Convenience and fuel retailer BP has named Starlee Sykes as CEO of its renewable energy subsidiary, Archaea Energy, effective immediately, according to a Tuesday announcement.
• Sykes left her position as BP’s senior vice president, Gulf of Mexico and Canada to take the top role. She’ll be succeeded by Andy Krieger, most recently senior vice president of BP’s wells division, according to the announcement. Krieger’s new role will commence on May 1.
• BP’s latest executive change comes about six months after the retailer revealed it will acquire Archaea for $4.1 billion — a move that closed in December, cementing BP’s presence in the renewable energy space.

Dive Insight:

This isn’t the first executive change BP has made in recent months. In late March, it named Hina Nagarajan, managing director and CEO of beverage company United Spirits Limited; and Satish Pai, managing director of aluminum and copper manufacturer Hindalco Industries, to its board of directors.

Those moves were made to help BP capitalize on its bioenergy, convenience, EV charging, renewables and hydrogen segments — or as the company calls them, its “growth engines.” 

Naming Sykes as CEO of Archaea is intended to do the same, David Lawler, chairman and president of BP America and chairman of Archaea Energy, said in the announcement.

“With decades of experience on some of the most complex projects in the industry, there is no one more qualified or better positioned than Starlee to run this business and accelerate one of the largest and fastest RNG platforms in the U.S.,” Lawler said.

Sykes has held a variety of roles with BP since 1997. Prior to her role leading BP’s Gulf of Mexico and Canada segments, she was senior vice president for global offshore projects and vice president for global deepwater projects.

Krieger has worked for BP since 1996. He’s held numerous positions with the company, including head of wells, vice president of wells for the Gulf of Mexico region, vice president of technical functions, and more.

“[Krieger] brings a deep and vast knowledge of global deepwater projects and understands the Gulf of Mexico and Canada regions extremely well,” Gordon Birrell, executive vice president, production and operation for BP, said in the announcement.

When BP announced it was acquiring Archaea, the retailer said the move would increase its biogas supply volumes by 50% at the time of closing and estimated it will double its earnings from biogas to around $2 billion by 2030. Archaea currently operates 50 RNG and landfill gas-to-energy facilities across the U.S. 

London-based BP has a variety of retail models across the U.S., including company-owned retail stores, strategic partnerships, brand licensing, wholesale, business-to-business, dealer-owned and franchise-owned locations. Besides its own branded stores and those of the Thorntons arm, BP’s mobility and convenience brands in the U.S. include Amoco and Ampm. Its acquisition of TravelCenters of America is expected to close by mid-2023.